THE ADRENAL INCIDENTALOMA IS NO TIME BOMB - ARGUMENTS FOR A FOLLOW-UP

Adrenal masses are nowadays more and more diagnosed incidentally. In t he vast majority of cases these ''incidentalomas'' are benign adrenoco rtical adenomas which do not compel operative therapy. In about 12 % o f patients an endocrine activity is detected. with increasing tumor si ze the risk of malignancy increases. This article summarizes recommend ations, only to allow patients with endocrine activity or an increased risk of malignancy to be selected for surgery. A small uncertainty wi ll always remain, but may be minimized by an individually tailored fol low-up.